Improvement in the manufacture of oxygen-gas



@time @sie Lette/rs Patent No. 86,248,

dated January 26, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OIE' OXYGEN-GAS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the. name.

To all whom l'it mayI concern Be it known that I, OnvILLE M. PHILLIPS, of the city, county, and State of N ew York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Manufacture of Oxygen-Gas; and I do hereby declare the followingto he a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which drawing- Figure 1 represents a sides view of this invention.

Figure 2 is a plan or top view thereof.

Figure 3 is a detached section of the exhauster, which may be used in carrying cut'my invention.

Similar letters indicate corresponding parts` his invention is intended an improvement on the process and apparatus of Motay and lNIai-echal for producing oxygen-gas from alkaline manganates.

This process, which has only quite recently been in trodnced in the 'United States, has originated in the ascertaining of two facts:

First, that if a current of ster-nn over an nllfa line manganatc, by preiinencc, manganate oi' sollst, it will abstract and carry aways considerable portion of the oxygen, which can afterwards be sepa-rated and secured by the simple condensation of the steam; and

Second, that il' a current of air is passed over the partially-deoxidized compound, said compound will recover from the air the oxygen it had lost. lhen this is done, a new current of steam may be employed to take off a second portion of inrygen, to be followed by a new current of air to restore it again; and so ou in definitely.

In carrying out this process, the mangauate of soda is heated in a nest of retorts, steam is passed through these retorts from a steam-boiler, then the steam is shut olf,and currents of air are passed through the retorts, by a suitable air-pump or fanfblower.

This operation is attended with certain disadvantages, which I have sought to overcome by my invention.

In the first place, .the shutting o" of the current of steam, and the subsequent starting of the air-forcing apparatus, and'then the stopping of the air-forcing apparatus, and the letting on of the current of steam, require constant attention of an 'experienced mechanic.

Secondly, the steam, which still fills the upper parts of the retorts, when the currents of cold air are admitted, condenses at least in part, and' the wat-er of condensation accumulates in said retorts, and obstructs the operation.-

These difficulties I have overcome by creatingr and maintaining in the retorts, after -the steam has been shut off, a partial vacuum, whereby the steam still rctained in said retorts is caused to pass ofi' through the suctionpipes, and, at the Sametime, the requisite currents of air are caused to pass through said retorts by suction.

Furthermore, the partial vacuum in the retorts is produced by jets of steam, on the principle of Giiiards injector, and the steam requisite or this purpose is steam-jets, both the steam-supply and the suctionpipes being connected by a three-way cock, so that, by the simple act of closing the steam-supply pipe, the suction-pipe is opened, and vice persa, and thereby the operation ofthe apparatus is materially facilitated.

In the accompanying 'drawing- The letter A represents a steam-boiler, which connects, by a pipe, B, with the three-way cock C, 4from which branch ofi' the steam-supply pipe I? and the suc tion or exhaust-pipe E, as clearly shown .in fig. 1.

The steani-supply pipe D connects, by branch-pipes a, with the several retorts F, and from the upper parts of the retcrts extend branch-pipes b, which connect with the suction-pipe E.

In the interior of this suction-pipe, I place thc con- .ical nozzles c and spout-s d, (see iig. 3,) so that-the steam, in passing through said pipe, will create a partial vacuum in each of the retorts.

Suitable check-valves o1' vacuum-yalves e admit the external air into the retorts, as soon as the pressure in the same has been reduc-cd below the atmospheric pl'GSSlfll'C.

The oxygen-gas, when disengaged from the manganate of soda in the retort-s F, passes oli" with the steam through the pipe G, which leads to the condenser H, and in this condenser the steam is condensed, and the oxygen-gas passes through the pipe I into the gasholdcr or receiver J.

' After the steam has acted a sufficient length of time on the manganate of soda in the retorts, the th1ee-\vay A cock O is turned, and thereby the supply-pipe D is shut oli, and the suction-pipe E is opened.

By the steam passing through this pipe, a partial vacuum is created in each retort, the steam still retained in suchretorts is sucked out, and the external air enters through the vacuum-valves e, so as to restore the oxygen previously abstracted from the manga-nate in the retorts.

By these means, the apparatus required for the manufacture of oxygen, and the operation of the same, are simplified, and, by exhausting the steam still remaining in the retorts after the steam-pipe has been shut oli, a decided advantage is obtained over the old process, in regard to the yield of oxygen.

I distinctly disclaim everything shown and described in the process of Motay and Marechal; but having thus described my invention,

tVhat I claim as new, and ters Patent, is-

1. The within-described process of facilitating the manufacture of oxygen-gas, by creating in the retorts containing the alkaline manganates, or other material from which the oxygen is extracted, at certain intervals, a partial vacuum, substantial-ly in the manner described.

2. The arrangement of a suction-pipe, E, in combination with the steam-pipe D and retorts F, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

ORVILLE M. PHILLIPS.

desire to secure by Let- Witnesses W. HAUFF,

taken fromthe same steam-boilerewhich supplies the ERNEST F. KAsrnNnnnEn. 

